Brazil is a huge beer (cerveja
– pronouncedser-veh-ja) drinking country but it hasn't
always been so. During the Portuguese colonial period (from 1500 until
independence in 1822), imported Portuguese wine (vinho) and cognac
were the most popular among the colonial elite while cachaça
was almost the only alcoholic choice for the under classes. Not until the
19th century, when tens of thousands of Europeans immigrated to Brazil,
did beer finally begin to gain a foothold; first with European imports
and, later in the century, with domestically produced brews.

The late entry of beer into
Brazil may have had a lot to do with the very nature of the product itself
because beer has three natural enemies: light, heat and age. Even today,
it's the reason most beers are packaged in brown bottles and why some brewers
ship their product refrigerated. Unlike wine, once beer is bottled or kegged
it is neverimproved by age. It is always at its best
when it is fresh but, in Brazil's tropical climate, that often takes
some doing. Until the advent of modern refrigeration technologies (in Brazil
as well as the United States) and faster methods of transportation, most
beers were consumed not too far from where they were brewed.

Today, Brazil is a massive
consumer of beer, mainly due to its population of 190+ million and the
legal drinking age of 18. Annual total beer production of almost 80 million
barrels makes Brazil the fourth largest beer producer in the world while
per capita consumption (now at about 47+ liters per year or less than half
that of the U.S.) places it behind such other beer thirsty countries as
the Czech Republic, Germany, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United
States, Spain, Japan and Mexico. Some claim that Brazilians drink more
beer during Carnival than the entire rest of the year combined
and they may be right. Brazilian Carnival certainly ranks high among the
world's great parties.

In spite of the global economic
slowdown, which affected Brazil less than many other countries, 2009 beer
consumption in Brazil increased more than 5% over 2008 levels — a record
10.7 billion liters. Some attribute this to the slightly higher
temperatures experienced throughout the country during 2009.

Drinking & DrivingIn June, 2008, a new drunk
driving law (Federal law no. 11.705) went into effect across Brazil
that (initially) had more than a few Brazilians literally reeling. The
lei seca (dry law) stipulates that any driver caught driving with
a blood alcohol level of above .2 mg (for each liter of blood) can
be arrested on the spot and criminally charged. The law carries penalties
of up to three years in prison, a R$955.00 fine and suspension of
the offender's driver's license for one year ... depending upon the circumstances.
Police across Brazil were issued
bafômetros (breathalyzers)
to test suspected offenders on the spot and Brazilians were warned that
drinking more than two cans of beer and driving could result in severe
consequences. However, while enforcement of the new law started out aggressively,
it has since faded in memory, importance and enforcement.

Kind of BeerMost all of the beer produced
and consumed in Brazil is a light colored (claro or branco),
pilsner
type lager but there are a few “dark” beers available, albeit,
many foreign beer aficionados find them too sweet or only a dark colored
lager. Most Brazilian beers range from 4½ to 5½ percentage
alcohol by volume. Other beer varieties such as wheat, bock,
weisse,
etc., are beginning to be produced in Brazil and gain some popularity among
the Brazilian beer drinking public but these are not available everywhere
and often difficult to find. Numerous micro breweries are also beginning
to sprout up in some areas of Brazil but generally only in the very largest
cities.

Many Brazilian men (and more
than a few women) are avid beer drinkers and love nothing better than a
cold chopp (draft beer– pronounced like shoppe) or
bottle or can of beer bem gelado (well chilled– pronounced bain
jell-ada). And when Brazilians say bem gelado they mean below
freezing. In fact, many bars and restaurants sport brewery labeled beer
freezers that proudly display the interior temperature, which usually hovers
between -4 º and -8 º centigrade or Celsius (18 º to 14º
Fahrenheit). It's not uncommon to be served a bottle of beer in Brazil
that has a coating of ice or is even partially frozen! But with Brazil's
tropical climate, there's much to be said about this Brazilian mania for
super chilled beer as it at least helps keep the brew cold a little longer.

PackagingMost of the beer served
and consumed in Brazil is packaged in either large 600 ml. (20 oz.) bottles
(garrafas – pronounced gah-haff-ahs), 355 ml. (12+ oz.) long
neck (same as English but pronounced long-ee neck-ee in Brazil)
bottles or 350 ml. (12 oz.) aluminum cans (latas or latinhas
–
pronounced lah-tahs or lah-cheen-yahs). Possibly due to the
equipment and hassle required to serve draft beer, chopp is less
widely available than bottled beers. Unlike the United States and elsewhere,
Brazilian bars and restaurants that do offer
chopp usually only
serve a single brand (marca) but never the same brand in a bottle.
We've got chopp! To top it off, chopp usually costs more
than an equivalent quantity of bottled beer and is usually not served quite
as cold. No matter what some Brazilians claim, any chopp and its
bottled brother are brewed the verysame way. There is no
difference between the two except the package or lack thereof.

Most bars and restaurants
serve the 600 ml. bottle which, while somewhat smaller, is the Brazilian
and metric equivalent of the American quart or “bomber”. When served, the
600 ml. bottle is often placed in a large plastic or styrofoam insulating
sleeve and communally poured into individual glasses by everyone at the
table. The cost per bottle varies depending upon the brand (marca)
as well as the status of the bar or restaurant (upscale or not) but is
generally between R$ 2.00+ and R$ 4.00+ or about US$ 1.00+
to US$ 2.00+. However, there are many places that cater to tourists
and, at times during the year (high season, for example), the price at
some bars can be both astronomical and absurd. If you ever find yourself
in a bar like this—where the price is over about R$ 5.00+
per bottle (of any size)—you are obviously in the wrong place and
need to go elsewhere fast!

Long neck bottles are usually
only available at upscale bars and restaurants and can often cost every
bit as much, if not more, than a 600 ml. bottle elsewhere. Cans (latas
or latinhas) are usually found at beaches, comida por peso
(food by weight) restaurants, lower end bars and in many private homes.
Supermercados
(supermarkets) in Brazil sell cans or long necks for between R$
.90+
to R$ 1.40 each (depending upon the brand) when they have a promoção
(sale). Many upscale Brazilian bars have a nightly happy hour
(same phrase and usage in Brazil) during the weekdays—usually from 6:00
pm to 7:00 or 8:00 pm. Just as in the U.S. and elsewhere, some offer beer
specials and/or free appetizers during happy hour.

By far, the largest share
of the Brazilian beer market (a whopping 80+%) belongs to Brazilian beer
giant Ambev
(Companhia de Bebidas das Américas). Ambev produces
the popular Brahma, Antárctica,
Skol and Bohemia
brands (marcas) as well as other less prominent beer brands and
numerous soft drinks. It is by far the largest brewer in Brazil and was
formed in 1999 by the merger of Brazilian beer titans Brahma and
Antárctica.
Before the merger was approved, the
Ambev group had to convince
the Brazilian government's anti-trust agency CADE (Conselho Administrativo
de Defesa Econômica) that only a merger could help Brazilian
brewers to compete successfully in the global market. But the merger mania
didn't end there.

In 2004, Ambev,
in turn, merged with Belgium based Interbrew (brewers of Stella
Artois, Becks, Bass, LaBatt and Leffe and
about 200 other brands) to form the world's single largest brewer by volume,
with 14% of the worldwide beer market and revenues only once exceeded by
American beer colossus Anheuser-Busch, maker of the world's number
one selling beer, Budweiser. Now, even Anheuser-Busch is part
of AB-InBev.
(Anheuser-Busch InBev) after the November, 2008, $52 billion purchase of
Anheuser-Busch by InBev. The second largest selling brand in the world
is
Asahi (Japan) and in third place, is the Brazilian brand Brahma.
In fact,
Brahma
together with Antárctica
and Skol
are among the ten top selling beers in the entire world.

There are other players in
the Brazilian beer market but, at best, they can only struggle to gain
or maintain a number two position to Ambev. Additionally, over the
past ten years or so, Brazil has increased imports of beers from Europe
and the United States and now it's possible in some locales to find such
brands as Heineken,
Miller Genuine Draft (MGD) and
even Budweiser, however, they are usually more expensive because
they are imported.

The following list, while
not all inclusive, includes most of the major brands of beer produced in
Brazil as well as some of the minor ones. We've marked each with a
(one to five) to indicate our opinion of their quality and drinkability
but this is just a single opinion. Others may think differently. Click
on the brand name to visit the brand's web site, however, most pages are
only available in Portuguese.